Purpose:
Prepare a 1500 word Essay, where you will reflect on Messing’s “Bent Out of Shape” by considering the practical implications of her research. (Book pdf provided)
Keep in Mind: Use an academic tone, write as if you are a university student writing this paper., Must include references cited as in text APA citation and must include accurately cited page numbers from Messing’s Bent Out of Shape book.
Scenario:
Imagine you are the labour-side co-chair of a Joint Health and Safety Committee (JHSC) at your workplace – ABC Manufacturing, a small manufacturing facility that employs roughly 100 people, two-thirds of whom are men. You are tasked with performing assessments of the health and safety risks experienced by workers and making recommendations to the committee for how to improve OHS at the firm.
The JHSC is aware that there is considerable job segregation: men are more likely to perform assembly, inventory and shipping tasks that involve heavy lifting; women, on the other hand, perform some lighter assembly line work but are more likely to be in supportive and cleaning roles. Workers’ Compensation claims have been filed largely by men, yet women at ABC Manufacturing have expressed to you that they experience considerable shoulder, neck and knee pain on the job. Consequently, the turnover rate of women at the firm is double that of men.
Workers at ABC – including you – are unionized. The union has made gender equality a top priority at the company, mostly by trying to desegregate jobs. The company has largely agreed to the union’s proposals, but few women have moved into the male-dominated jobs, and those who did have either left or switched back to their former roles. The union is supportive of your OHS work but is hesitant about angering male members or about undermining its commitment to gender equality at the JHSC.
Instructions:
You are writing a proposal and plan for how you would study OHS risks at ABC, particularly their gender-based consequences. The task is to draw from Messing’s research and insights to justify the plan you propose. Therefore, you will need to devote space in your essay to discussing some of Messing’s examples to make the case for your approach to studying OHS risks at ABC.
Drawing on examples and insights from Messing’s book, write a plan outlining how you would assess the OHS risks for women and men at ABC Manufacturing.
Think about:
How would you study the risks faced by men and women in their jobs? What would you look for?
Part of your OHS assessment will involve interviewing workers about their jobs. How would you go about this interview work? What would you ask workers, and how?
How would you present your findings to your union? Consider what Messing describes as the “sameness” and “difference” feminist approaches. Your union, being committed to gender equality, falls into the “sameness” category.
Consider how your assessment and recommendations would fit with the union’s commitment to gender equality.
Note: Must include a thesis statement. Be very concise. Use as much content from the Book as possible. No outside sources is allowed. Do not repeat things.
